Threat
by SophieRomanoff
Summary: 'I won't touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you! Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear! And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I'll split his skull' In the aftermath of the battle of New York, Clint tries to find out what Loki said to Natasha.


'Barton told me everything. Your ledger is dripping, it's GUSHING red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer... PATHETIC! You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code. Something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you, and they will never go away!... I won't touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you!

Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear! And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I'll split his skull! This is MY bargain, you mewling quim!' -Loki

Welcome to day 24!

THREAT

Three days after the Battle of New York, right in the heart of Shield, Natasha and Clint sat side by side.

Clint had been going through therapist after therapist, gone through rigorous testing and had been poked and prodded by more doctors than he had fingers for.

Waiting on the news about whether he was cleared or not, Clint finally got Natasha to talk to him.

"I'm sick and tired of talking about myself, Tash." He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Do you think you'll regress? Do you remember what you did, who you killed? Do you think about killing people often? I'm fucking sick of it." Clint lowered his head into his hands, the exhaustion clear on his face.

"I know." Natasha said softly, pulling one of the hands from his face and holding it in her own.

"Just a couple more hours, the hard part is over. Just a couple more hours and we'll know."

"You still haven't said, Tasha, what did Loki do to you?" He turned his body to face her, trying to catch her eyes as her gaze drifted to the floor.

"He didn't...I just..." She swallowed hard, shaking her head.

"He just...reminded me of my past. Threatened me." She shrugged. "Compared to what he did to you, it's as tame as anything." She murmured.

"Natasha." Clint said softly but firm, his thumb under her chin, finally able to catch her gaze.

She didn't want him to feel even more guilt, he didn't remember telling Loki everything about Natasha and she was loath to tell him. But he was her partner, her boyfriend, her everything

He deserved to know.

"He...mentioned some...colourful moments from my past. Dreykov, Sao Paulo, the hospital fire." Her voice caught on the last one, her mind flitting back to that awful awful day.

"The children's ward." Clint sighed softly, squeezing his eyes shut. "I told him about it. Fuck, Natasha, I'm so fucking sorry." His voice grated and his head dropped, the emotion clear in his tone.

"It wasn't you." She said quietly, brushing her fingers over his hair.

"What else?" He asked quietly.

Natasha sighed deeply, pulling her hand back. "He...told me that...you would kill me. I believe his words were 'slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear'." She knew those were the exact words, they were engraved in her brain.

"He said that you would wake just long enough to see your good work and..." Her voice hitched. "When you screamed, he'd split your skull." She finished in a whisper.

Clint faltered, moving away from her touch. "Jesus fucking Christ, Natasha." He growled, putting his hands against the wall to try and ground himself.

"It was just a threat, Clint." She said quietly. "Just trying to get under my skin."

"But it wasn't just a threat was it? I did come for you, I did fight you and I was going to kill you. Slowly, painfully, unbound so you could clearly see it was me." He inhaled sharply, squeezing his eyes shut against the memory. "I was murderous, I could feel the rage in my veins. I wanted you dead. I wanted to watch the...the life bleed out of you. I wanted my face to be the last thing you ever saw."

Natasha had slowly curled in on herself as he'd been speaking, her knees up to her chest, her gaze blank as she stared at the wall. It took her a few moments to compose herself before she could speak again.

"Clint..." She started softly, "I almost killed you once too. I put my hands around your neck and I squeezed and I squeezed until your eyes rolled back and you were close to death. Would I have chosen to do that if I was in my right mind? No, absolutely not." She said quietly. "Would you have wanted to kill me if Loki hadn't been controlling you? Well, would you?"

"No, Natasha, fuck." He growled. "Of fucking course I wouldn't."

"Well then." She said softly. "There you go."

Clint exhaled shakily, pressing his forehead to the wall before turning and stalking over to her.

"Can I kiss you?" His eyes were burning into hers and all she could do was nod.

He kissed her, hard, filled with passion and rage and angst.

She moaned softly against his lips and in seconds, he had pressed her against the wall, pinning her.

She only moaned again, pressing her body against his, kissing like her life depended on it.

They fitted together like two pieces of a puzzle, and Natasha was more than happy to let Clint bruise her body with his grip.

"Just a threat." He murmured, kissing down the side of her jaw and neck.

"Just a threat." She whispered breathlessly, arching her back and sliding her arms around him.

"Now take me to bed." She growled lowly.

"It would be my pleasure."


End file.
